Many places have different superstitions. It is often seen as a joke by people today. There are people who believe things that do not make sense at all, even if it is just for fun. But behind every belief lies every fear. Some ‘beliefs’ are still carried despite being convinced that nothing will happen due to the fear of something bad happening in life. Koreans have such an interesting belief. Or, fear of the number 4.
5 after 3
After three in Korea, it is number five. Koreans believe that the number four is unlucky. This number is believed to be symbolic of death. Not for nothing, there is a story of faith behind this superstition.
The Chinese character for ‘death’ is pronounced “sah”. In Korea, four is pronounced the same way. Hence the Korean belief that four is a symbol of death. Therefore, the number 4 is not seen anywhere in Korea.
There is no such thing as the fourth floor even if you take the elevator. Instead it will be marked with F. In Korea, the alphabet F is used instead of the number 4. It is customary to give money as a gift when there are any festive events. However, the Koreans have said that 4 is out of business here as well.
30,000 won or 50,000 won would be acceptable. But it is said that if you pay 40,000 won, there is no greater disrespect than that.
Tetraphobia
This fear of the number four is known as tetraphobia. Apart from Korea, this superstition also exists in countries like China, Japan and Taiwan. The reason this superstition gained popularity is because the pronunciation of the word 사, which means four in Korean, means death.
Koreans don’t even like to look at 4:44. Meanwhile, it is reported that there are young people in Korea who do not follow such superstitions. To break such beliefs, there are people in Korea who ask for the number 4 when dialing a phone number.
#Korean #fear #number
2023-08-23 20:05:00
